Earth Week: Soil Studies
Little did we know, we picked Soil Studies on a day with snow! We started with transplanting our Easter herb sprouts (dill and cilantro) into clay pots.
jNext I sent the kids into the snow to dig out a dirt sample for our Sediment Jar. We added about 1/4c of water and shook it up. Then waited for the soil to settle so we could see the layers.
kWe coloured and labeled the layers: humus (decomposing plant life), sand & silt (topsoil), clay (subsoil) and bedrock (which we didn't include in our glass jar).
jSeveral bowls were set on the table, to make an edible version of a Sediment Jar: cashews representing bedrock, chocolate pudding for clay, ground buckwheat for soil/silt, coconut for humus.
In front of each chair, I taped a piece of paper with a word written in hot glue. By taping another paper over top and offering a pencil for rubbing, each child revealed a mystery message. Together the words showed the cycle of decomposition; birth, growth, death and decomposition. We then discussed examples for each term (birth=seed, growth=sprout, death=dying plant).
Pretty much every Spring, this book is a must. The Story of the Root Children is a personified version of plant life from winter to spring and the cycle that plays out each season.
We also included Mud Muffins from Tell Me A Story, which is another seasonal favourite, about how Mrs Thaw sweeps away snow and children stir up mud puddles to get the earth ready for Spring.